2013 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Roundup: February 27-March 1, 2013

Alaska
continued to dominate even against, arguably, the most talented team in the
PBA, while the Air21 Express remain mired at the bottom of the standings. The Gin
Kings also had a breakthrough performance this past Wednesday, finally nailing
win #1, while the Boosters won an ugly one for their fourth victory in five
games.

Gabby Espinas is all smiles as the Aces remained unbeatenin the 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup.

A few days
ago against the Air21 Express, Paul Lee produced easily his best game of the
current conference. The Lee-thal Weapon registered 15 points on 6-of-8 FG
shooting, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 steal in 29 minutes of play. He could
have easily put up a triple-double had he played at least 40 minutes. Boom.
Meanwhile, Air21’s Niño Cañaleta was a picture of irony. He was awesome from
beyond the arc, making 5 of his 6 trey attempts, but he was butt-awful from the
two-point area. Cañaleta missed ALL SEVEN two-point field goals in the game.
Yikes.

The Painters’
win over the Express means they are gathering steam. This was ROS's third
straight win, and though it was a little too close for comfort, the Painters
will take it. Their next four assignments are tough -- Ginebra, Global Port,
TNT, and then Petron. This winning run should give them enough momentum heading
into those encounters, but a red flag was Bruno Sundov's subpar production --
just 3-of-9 from the field and only 5 rebounds in 27 minutes.

In Wednesday’s
second game, Mark Caguioa and Vernon Macklin combining for 44 points, 18
boards, 6 assists, and 4 steals as Ginebra finally won a game this conference.
If this pair of pugs can continue to produce those numbers, then Alfrancis
Chua's Gin Kings should have little trouble climbing the standings. On the other
end of the floor, Barako Bull was uncharacteristically lackadaisical. One guy
who struggled mightily was Jonas Villanueva, who had great production in each
of his early games in the conference. After shooting 50% from the field in his
first two games, his clip has sunk to just 32% in his last three. Heat-check
time for the former FEU standout.

One big
question after this big Ginebra win is this: is LA Tenorio's game back to its
great form? Apart from his 19-point aberration against Petron last February 17,
LA Tenorio has been having a miserable Commish Cup. In this game, however, he
scored 10 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and dished out 6 dimes -- all above his
current averages. Is this a sign of better things to come for Ginebra and for
the Gilas playmaker?

Just
yesterday, the Express were dealt another black eye after losing to the Petron
Blaze Boosters. Renaldo Balkman made minced meat of the Air21 defense by
putting up 25 points to go along with 13 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block. Phew.
Whattaguy. It was an ugly game, though. Both teams combined for just 113
points. This was Petron's lowest winning score. EVER. Nevertheless, an ugly win
(even one this ugly) is still a win.

One big
concern for Air21 coach Franz Pumaren is who will save his Express? All of
Air21's games this conference have been tight. Their lone win, which was
against fellow cellar-dweller Ginebra, was decided by just four points. All
their other games were lost by an average of only 4.3 points. The Express just
cannot get over the proverbial hump. Who will save them from this vicious
barrage of almost-but-not-quite?

In Friday’s
main game, Alaska used a big 14-1 blast to break the game open in the third
canto and beat the Tropang Texters. Cyrus Baguio's great hanging-in-the-air
shot against Keith Benson was the highlight of this pivotal run. The former UST
Tiger led the Alaska locals with 17 markers, missing just 3 of his 11 attempts
from the floor. Now, I honestly cannot remember the last time a Norman Black
team was held to just two field goals and a grand total of five points in one
quarter. I mean, isn't TNT composed chiefly of guys in the national pool? SMH.

Conclusion? These
Aces are for real! 5-0 start to the conference? Beating the Philippine Cup
champs by TWENTY-THREE points? Robert Dozier playing beyond expectations?
Calvin Abueva not skipping a beat? Sonny Thoss playing super-efficient
basketball? Shudder with fear.

Game Recaps:

RAIN OR SHINE
ELASTO-PAINTERS over AIR21 EXPRESS, 99-97

The Rain or
Shine Elasto Painters edged the Air 21 Express in a thrilling shootout, 99-97,
Wednesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

It was the
third straight victory for Rain or Shine, which needed one last defensive stop
to deal hardluck Air 21 its third straight defeat.

The Elasto
Painters led by just a single point, 98-97, after Ryan Araña and Wynne Arboleda
exchanged three-pointers with under a minute left in the game. Rain or Shine
center JR Quiñahan went to the free throw line in the next possession and split
his charities, giving the Express one last shot to tie or win the match.

Arboleda
missed a wide open corner three-pointer in the next play, but the Express were
awarded get possession after the rebound was tapped out. Air 21 drew up a play
for import Michael Dunigan in the paint, but was foiled by tight defending by
the Elasto Painters.

Rain or
Shine won despite missing import Bruno Sundov for most of the second half due
to foul trouble. The 7-foot-3 Croatian picked up his fourth and fifth fouls in
quick succession with still less than nine minutes left in the third quarter,
and fouled out of the game late in the fourth period.

“We kept on
fighting back even when the import wasn’t helping us throughout the game. This
is a big lesson for him. He just has to play a little smarter, keeping away
from those fouls,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao.

Sundov
played just 27 minutes, but managed to score 17 points. Paul Lee took over the
cudgels for the Elasto Painters, posting 15 points, seven rebounds, and seven
assists in his finest game of the conference, while Araña added 11 points.

Dunigan led
all scorers with 22 points.

Rain or
Shine improved its win-loss record to 3-1, while Air 21′s mark fell to 1-3.

Barangay
Ginebra San Miguel finally won its first game in the Commissioner’s Cup, and
the Gin Kings did it in style, blowing out Barako Bull, 93-72, Wednesday at the
SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Reigning
Most Valuable Player Mark Caguioa continued his stellar play with 23 points and
four steals for Ginebra, which took a 13-point halftime lead before taking the
fight out of Barako Bull in the third quarter.

Import
Vernon Macklin, playing in his second game for the Gin Kings, added 21 points
for the Gin Kings, who looked more visibly energized after losing their first
four games in the conference.

Ginebra led
by as much as 28 points in the fourth quarter, as its suffocating defense held
the dangerous Barako Bull to just 46 points through three quarters.

It was the
first victory of coach Alfrancis Chua at the helm of Ginebra.

Evan Brock
and Josh Urbiztondo led the Energy Colas with 16 points apiece. Barako Bull
suffered its second loss in five assignments, dropping to fourth place in the
standings.

Petron Blaze
survived Air 21 in an ugly game, 60-53, Friday night at the SMART-Araneta
Coliseum to continue its streak in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

It was the
fourth straight win for the Boosters, who needed a spark from energy players
Renaldo Balkman and Ronald Tubid to make up for their subpar showing in several
portions in the second half.

Despite
struggling offensively, the Boosters got a big lift from their defense.

They held
the Express to only seven points in the second quarter. Over that stretch, Air
21 also committed to 11 turnovers, allowing the Boosters to take a 34-24 lead
at the turn.

In the third
period, it was the Boosters’ turn to struggle offensively, scoring only seven
points to give the Express a chance to come back.

By the end
of the third quarter, the score was tied at 41-apiece. But Balkman scored the
first six points of the final period, and Tubid continued to hustle and
frustrate the guards of the Express to allow the Boosters to keep their streak
going.

The 60 points
scored by Petron is the lowest winning score by any team since Sta. Lucia
scored 54 points in a victory over Purefoods on May 22, 2005.

It was also
the lowest winning output for Petron in franchise history.

Coming into
its matchup against Alaska, Talk ‘N Text was the No. 1 defensive team in the
Commissioner’s Cup.

On Friday,
the Aces gave the Tropang Texters a dose of their own medicine on the way to a
92-69 beatdown at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Alaska held
Talk ‘N Text to miserable 2-of-21 shooting (9.5 percent) in the third quarter
to break the game wide open for the surprisingly easy victory.

Cyrus Baguio
finished with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field to provide the
scoring spunk for the Aces’ locals, but it was the team defensive effort that
did the magic for Alaska.

They held
the Tropang Texters to just five points in the third period while unloading 28
points.

Baguio’s
five straight points, capped by a three-point play off a hangtime move over
Talk ‘N Text import Keith Benson, touched off a 14-1 run that gave Alaska a
59-40 lead in the third period.

But for
coach Luigi Trillo, stopping Talk N Text’s guards Jimmy Alapag and Jayson
Castro as well as containing Benson was the key.

“We took
Benson out of his flow. Alapag and Castro, those two give the team life, but we
played a little bit of good defense, then they’re missing open shots as well.
We did a good job playing on both ends of the floor,” said Alaska coach Luigi
Trillo, whose team raced to its best start in a tournament since 1998.